[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7534 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7534
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish
an excess urban heat mitigation grant program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 18, 2022
Mr. Gallego (for himself and Mrs. Watson Coleman) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish
an excess urban heat mitigation grant program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Heat stress is a leading weather-related cause of death
in the United States, with over 600 people killed in the United
States by extreme heat every year, and many more experiencing
respiratory problems and heat-related illness.
(2) Urban areas are likely to experience higher
temperatures than surrounding areas due to manmade factors such
as low solar reflectance, low tree cover, high building
density, high impervious surface cover, and waste heat
emissions.
(3) Underserved communities are disproportionately impacted
by extreme heat. In the United States, low-income census blocks
have 15.2 percent less tree cover and an average land surface
temperature that is 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than high-income
blocks.
(4) Studies show that in 97 percent of the largest
urbanized areas in the United States, people of color live in
census tracts with higher surface urban heat island intensity
than non-Hispanic Whites, indicating that heat exposure is
unequally distributed by race.
(5) Urban heat is not only a public health threat but an
economic one, as rising heat leads to increased roadway
maintenance costs, higher residential and commercial summer
energy costs, and lost labor productivity, as well as the cost
to patients and health care infrastructure for heat-related
hospitalizations and emergency department visits.
(6) Excess urban heat causes increased energy consumption,
elevated emission of air pollutants and greenhouse gasses, and
impaired water quality.
(7) Heat waves are expected not only to occur more
frequently in the United States but will also be of longer
duration, lasting 10 to 20 days longer by the end of the
century.
(8) Solutions exist that communities can implement now to
mitigate the challenge of urban heat. One example is the
planting of urban trees to offset or reverse the urban heat
island effect. Studies in multiple United States cities have
shown that urban trees can offset projected increases in heat-
related mortality in 2050 by 40 to 99 percent.
SEC. 3. URBAN HEAT MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in
coordination with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, shall, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, establish an urban heat mitigation grant program to provide
amounts to eligible entities for use in association with eligible
projects.
(b) Eligible Project.--Eligible projects in this grant program are
those designed to mitigate heat in urban areas, either by working to
combat the causes of higher temperatures, or mitigating the impacts
thereof. These may include--
(1) cool pavements;
(2) cool roofs;
(3) tree planting and maintenance with, wherever possible,
preference for--
(A) native tree species; and
(B) tree species with high shade production and
carbon sequestration;
(4) green roofs;
(5) bus stop shelters;
(6) shade structures;
(7) cooling centers with, wherever possible, preference
for--
(A) cooling centers that collaborate with existing
community centers and spaces;
(B) cooling centers with year-round accessibility,
and
(C) cooling centers that incorporate holistic
resilience hubs and community efforts;
(8) outreach to communities about resources available under
this section; and
(9) local heat mitigation education efforts.
(c) Set-Aside.--Not less than 50 percent of the amount of financial
assistance provided under this Act in any fiscal year shall be provided
to eligible entities to implement projects in low-income communities
and Environmental Justice communities as defined in this Act.
(d) Technical Assistance.--
(1) In general.--Not more than 3 percent of any amounts
appropriated under this Act may be used to provide technical
assistance to eligible entities applying for assistance under
this Act.
(2) Preference.--Technical assistance shall be provided
with a preference for eligible entities applying with an intent
to serve Environmental Justice communities.
(3) Inclusions.--Technical assistance may include--
(A) assistance developing a complete application;
(B) financial analysis and budget development;
(C) support for project integration;
(D) assessment of project readiness; and
(E) implementation of technical assistance
activities once a grant is received.
(e) Application.--To be considered for a grant under this Act, an
eligible entity shall submit an application at such time and in such
manner as required by the Secretary in guidance issued not later than
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and including--
(1) how the entity will use grant funds;
(2) how the eligible projects funded would combat extreme
heat or excess urban heat effects and improve quality of life
for impacted communities;
(3) a robust engagement plan that outlines how the entity
will meaningfully engage with the communities in which their
eligible projects take place throughout project implementation.
Such plan should demonstrate how the entity plans to--
(A) foster meaningful, reciprocal relationships
with community-based organizations;
(B) engage in respectful, good-faith consultation
with diverse community stakeholders; and
(C) empower members of the community to participate
in decision making; and
(4) how the entity will address the intersection between
human health, environment, and built environment.
(f) Matching Requirement.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided under paragraph (2),
the Federal share of the cost of an eligible project carried
out with amounts from the urban heat mitigation grant program
shall be 80 percent.
(2) Waiver.--The Secretary may increase the Federal share
requirement described in paragraph (1) from 80 percent to 100
percent for projects carried out by an eligible entity that
demonstrates economic hardship, as determined by the Secretary.
(g) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary
shall give priority to applicants that are low-income communities and
Environmental Justice communities.
(h) Reporting Requirement.--The Secretary shall, each year, submit
a report to the Congress that identifies what eligible entities have
received grants under this Act and the geographic and economic
distribution of such entities.
(i) Oversight.--
(1) In general.--In order to ensure the effectiveness of
projects that receive grants under this Act, the Secretary
shall use not more than 5 percent of any amounts appropriated
under this Act to establish an oversight board to help select
grant recipients and review the progress made by grantees on a
yearly basis.
(2) Evaluation.--The board established pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall develop and apply a rubric to evaluate how
well grant projects are doing in reaching their objective to
combat the causes and effects of excess urban heat, and will
serve in an advisory capacity to the Secretary.
(3) Membership.--Members of the board established pursuant
to paragraph (1) may include the following:
(A) Representatives from the Environmental
Protection Agency, particularly from the Heat Island
Reduction Program.
(B) Representatives from the Department of Health
and Human Services, particularly from the Office of
Climate Change and Health Equity.
(C) Representatives from the Department of Energy,
particularly from the Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy.
(D) Representatives from nonprofits with proven
leadership in urban heat mitigation or environmental
justice, as determined by the Secretary. Such
representatives will have to certify that they do not
have a direct or financial stake in any projects being
considered that are administered under this grant
program.
(E) Representatives from academia and research
studying the effects of and mitigation of excess urban
heat, environmental justice, or related areas. Such
representatives will have to certify that they do not
have a direct or financial stake in any projects being
considered that are administered under this grant
program.
(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this Act, $30,000,000 in fiscal years 2023,
2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a State;
(B) a metropolitan planning organization;
(C) a unit of local government;
(D) a Tribal government;
(E) a nonprofit organization working in
coordination with an entity in this list; and
(F) a consortium of nonprofit organizations.
(2) Environmental justice.--The term ``environmental
justice'' means the fair treatment and meaningful involvement
of all people regardless of race, color, culture, national
origin, income, and educational levels with respect to the
development, implementation, and enforcement of protective
environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
(3) Environmental justice communities.--The term
``environmental justice communities'' means minority, low-
income, tribal, or indigenous populations or geographic
locations in the United States that potentially experience
disproportionate environmental harms and risks. This
disproportionality can be as a result of greater vulnerability
to environmental hazards, lack of opportunity for public
participation, or other factors. Increased vulnerability may be
attributable to an accumulation of negative or lack of positive
environmental, health, economic, or social conditions within
these populations or places. The term describes situations
where multiple factors, including both environmental and socio-
economic stressors, may act cumulatively to affect health and
the environment and contribute to persistent environmental
health disparities.
(4) Excess urban heat effect.--The term ``excess urban heat
effect'' refers to the phenomenon of local urban warming,
resulting from manmade factors such as low solar reflectance,
low tree cover, high building density, high impervious surface
cover, and waste heat emissions.
(5) Extreme heat.--The term ``extreme heat'' means a
prolonged period of excessively hot weather, with temperatures
well above climatological normals for a given location and
season.
(6) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit
organization'' has the meaning given in section 501(c)(3) of
title 26, United States Code, and exempt from taxation under
section 501(a) of such title.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
(8) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101(a) of title 23, United States Code.
(9) Tribal government.--The term ``Tribal government''
means the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska
Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community,
component band, or component reservation, individually
identified (including parenthetically) in the list published
most recently as of the date of enactment of this Act pursuant
to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List
Act of 1994.
(10) Urban areas.--The term ``urban areas'' has the meaning
given the term in section 101(a)(33) of title 23, United States
Code.
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